Question: It seems that going after the grail diary in Berlin was just a plot point. Henry obviously knew about the trials in the cave by heart. The search for the holy grail has been a hobby of his for 40 years or so. Am I right?
raywest
28th Apr 2021
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Answer: Neither Henry or Indiana would want the diary to remain in German hands. The Nazis wanted the Grail to exploit its power. As Elsa was a German scientist, she'd already gleaned enough knowledge from Henry and Indy to utilize the information contained within the diary. The diary also contained considerable data about the Grail and its history that Henry had researched over the years and would not have memorized and wanted to retain. He would also want to pass it on to Indy.
17th Jan 2021
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: During the Nazi rally books are being burned. Why and what kind are they?
Answer: This is from Wikipedia on what type of books Nazis wanted burned: The books targeted for burning were those viewed as being subversive or as representing ideologies opposed to Nazism. These included books written by Jewish, communist, socialist, anarchist, liberal, pacifist, religious, and sexologist authors among others.
13th Oct 2020
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: When the tank was coming towards the cliff, why didn't Indy simply jump off the tank? If he jumped to the right or left his father and others wouldn't think that he died.
Answer: There's no way to really answer this because this is an intentionally crafted plot, designed to have characters act and react in a specific way. The movie is going for dramatic effect, making it appear the others think Indy is dead. When he reappears safe and sound, his father has an emotional reaction, showing how much he cares for his son.
3rd Aug 2007
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: Are Indiana Jones and his father immortal at the end of the movie or does the grail's power become null and void when it crosses the seal? The knight said something like "The grail cannot cross the seal, that is the price of immortality." That makes it sound like they are not immortal at the end but I still want to check.
Chosen answer: They're not, no. An individual doesn't become immortal after one drink - it requires them to drink regularly in order to remain alive. So neither Jones has been rendered immortal, merely healed of any wounds that they might have. But your surmise is basically correct - as the Grail cannot leave the shrine, any individual wishing to use it to prolong their life must stay there if they wish to enjoy its effects.
Also, in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull, Henry Jones, Sr has passed away before the start of the story and therefore was not immortal.
9th Aug 2020
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: In the last shot of the knight waving goodbye to the Joneses, is it just me or has the actor been swapped out with a dummy?
Answer: It is the real actor and not a robotic dummy. He moves a bit slowly and deliberately, apparently for effect, but it's a real person.
Just to be clear, I'm not referring to when we see the knight raise his hand to wave goodbye to them, but rather right after Indy says "Please Dad," and he and Henry begin to flee the collapsing temple, you can see the knight in the background with his arm raised and he looks rather stiff. You can see it at around 2:22 of this clip: https://youtu.be/PAfZ7V2VyD8.
I took a closer look. There is the shot where the knight raises his hand and you can see him moving. It then cuts to Indy and Henry, then a cut back to the knight where it briefly looks like it could be a mannequin, then there is another cut and back to the knight again and this time it's definitely the live actor. So yes, for that brief long shot, I think it could be a dummy. This may have been for the purpose of efficiency in the filming, it being easier to use a stationary prop for doing multiple takes, rather than the live actor just standing there. Sometimes they do what is called "pick up" shots, where, post-production, a part of a scene or close-ups are re-shot or added weeks or months later, and it would just be easier to use mannequin rather than recall the actor.
But he does move, so most likely a real person.
8th Jun 2020
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: In the desert the tank first shot towards the Joneses. Then one of the bad guys implied that they hit their vehicle, by saying they couldn't get out of the desert on foot. How did they know? The vehicle wasn't visible from their location.
15th Jan 2019
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: What did Sean Connery mean by "Elsa never really believed in the Grail. She thought she found a prize"?
Answer: He means she only saw it as a valuable archeological object to be found and exploited. She did not truly understand its religious significance and magical power.
Specifically, he meant that Elsa considered the Grail a prize for The Fatherland (the German Third Reich), just as the Nazis considered the Ark of the Covenant a "prize" in the first movie.
Not quite. Elsa wasn't in it for the Nazis...it was made clear at several points that she didn't believe in Hitler's cause, but she was complicit. The first explanation is more accurate.
11th Oct 2016
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: Why does Indiana Jones wear glasses? We always see him wearing round-rimmed glasses in academic settings, which implies that he wears reading glasses. In the midst of high adventure, however, he never wears glasses; nonetheless, he's able to read cryptic inscriptions and even his father's diary in the worst possible lighting conditions. Are his reading glasses some sort of passive disguise, like Clark Kent's?
Answer: According to the book, he is far-sighted. In his office, he had to hold the package that contained the diary at arms length. He cannot read anything up close.
23rd Jun 2008
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: In "Last Crusade," there is meant to be this guy called Gestapo. I was wondering, who is Gestapo? I am interested as he is played by Pat Roach who played henchmen in the other films.
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Answer: Henry says, in response to Indy asking if he remembered the details of the trials: "I wrote them down in my diary so that I wouldn't have to remember." So, obviously he did NOT know them by heart. Also, as the other answer says, they didn't want the diary to either be in the Nazis' possession or be burned.